Table with fold-away legs

ABSTRACT

In the case of a table with fold-away legs, the tubular legs ( 4 ) are connected in an articulated manner to articulation sockets ( 3 ) which are fastened on the underside of the table top ( 1 ). The articulated connection here is produced via a T-bolt ( 8 ) which has its crosspiece ( 23 ) mounted in a pivotable manner in the articulation socket ( 3 ), under the force of a spring ( 10 ), and which has its lower shank ( 26 ) screwed to a threaded ring ( 13 ) which has an external thread ( 21 ) of relatively large pitch, on which the tubular leg ( 4 ) can be moved by rotation in the longitudinal direction by means of a leg insert ( 14 ) fastened therein.

DESCRIPTION

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] The invention relates to the field of furniture, in particulartables with fold-away legs.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] Various technical solutions for tables which have fold-away legsare known. Such tables are important, in particular, in the commercialsector, where rooms have to be furnished in a flexible manner. It isnecessary here for the furniture, including the tables, on the one handto be erected easily and quickly but, on the other hand, also to beeasily dismantled again and stored in the smallest possible amount ofspace.

[0005] Of course, it is also necessary here for the furniture to bestable, both in the erected state and when stored, and to have anaesthetically pleasing appearance, but nevertheless to have a low weightand be as cost-effective as possible to produce. Furthermore, it shouldbe possible for the furniture to be erected and stored as quickly andeasily as possible even by unskilled individuals.

[0006] The prior-art tables only fulfil these stringent requirements tosome extent, and it is thus still very problematic to improve tablessuch that they satisfy the requirements to the greatest possible extent.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The object of the invention is thus to improve a table withfold-away legs such that, on the one hand, the legs are easy to foldaway and to erect, and the table has an aesthetically pleasingappearance in the erected state and only takes up a small amount ofspace in the stored state but, on the other hand, the production outlayand thus the production costs are as low as possible.

[0008] This object is achieved by the features of Claim 1 and of thesubclaims.

[0009] The invention is based on the idea of producing the articulatedconnection between the tubular leg and the articulation socket by aT-bolt which has its crosspiece mounted in a pivotable manner in thearticulation socket, under spring force, and which has its lower shankscrewed to a threaded ring, on the relatively large-pitched externalthread of which the tubular leg can be moved by rotation in thelongitudinal direction by means of a leg insert fastened therein.

[0010] It is thus possible for the tubular leg, by being rotated in theanti-clockwise direction, to be released from its engagement in thearticulation socket and folded away and in the erected state, by beingrotated in the clockwise direction, to be fixed on the articulationsocket.

[0011] It is particularly advantageous here, on the one hand between thethreaded ring and the leg insert, to provide a spring which, in thereleased state, forces the tubular leg away from the articulation socketand, on the other hand, at the point where the end of the folded-awayleg ends up located beneath the table top, to provide an arrestingsaddle with a recess into which the nose of an arresting body fitted atthe end of the tubular leg is forced by the spring force. Once foldedaway, a leg thus latches into the arresting saddle and remains storedaway in a stable manner beneath the table top.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow withreference to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawings, inwhich:

[0013]FIG. 1 shows a table from beneath, with the legs folded away andarrested at their ends,

[0014]FIG. 2 shows the illustration from FIG. 1 in side view,

[0015]FIG. 3 shows a section through the articulated connectionaccording to the invention between an articulation socket and tubularleg, where the tubular leg has been released from the articulationsocket and can thus be folded away,

[0016]FIG. 4 shows the illustration from FIG. 3 with the tubular legfixed on the articulation socket,

[0017]FIG. 5 shows, at the top, an illustration of the articulationsocket and tubular leg in the folded-away state and, at the bottom, anenlarged illustration of the region which, at the top, is designated“A”,

[0018]FIG. 6 shows a perspective illustration of the T-bolt, and

[0019]FIG. 7 shows, at the top, an illustration of the arresting saddleon the underside of the table, with the arresting body of the leg insertlatched in, and, at the bottom, an enlarged illustration of the regionwhich, at the top, is designated “A”.

METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION

[0020]FIG. 1 illustrates a table top 1 in a view from beneath. Providedat its corners are table-joint components 2 in which, on the one hand,the crossmembers 18 are fastened and on which, on the other hand, thearticulation sockets 3 are fastened. The crossmembers 18 are adhesivelybonded to the table-joint components 2. The table top 1 is fastened onthe crossmembers 18 and the table-joint components 2 by means of thescrews 19. The tubular legs 4 have been folded away and latched in thearresting saddles 7 (not shown in this figure).

[0021]FIG. 2 illustrates the table top 1 with the table-joint components2 fastened on its underside, these components retaining the crossmembers18, on the one hand, and the articulation sockets 3, on the other hand.The tubular legs 4 have been folded away in the articulation sockets 3,the connection between the articulation socket 3 and tubular leg 4 beingproduced via the T-bolt 8.

[0022]FIG. 3 illustrates the articulated connection between the tubularleg 4 and the articulation socket 3 via the T-bolt 8, the tubular leg 4having been detached from the articulation socket 3.

[0023] The articulation socket 3 is fastened on the table-jointcomponent 2. The T-bolt 8 has its crosspiece 23 mounted in a pivotablemanner in the articulation socket 3. This allows a pivoting movement byway of the recess 11 in the articulation socket 3. The mounting of thecrosspiece 23 is brought about by the pressure of the braking insert 9,which is subjected to the force of the socket spring 10. Inserted at thearticulation end of the articulation socket 3 is a ring which consistsof polyamide (PA) and acts as a stacking guard 12 when the tables withfolded-away legs are stored one above the other.

[0024] A leg insert 14 is fastened, for example adhesively bonded, inthe tubular leg 4. This insert has an internal thread into which thethreaded ring 13 is screwed by way of its external thread. The T-bolt isscrewed into the internal thread of said threaded ring.

[0025] In the illustration, the tubular leg 4 has been released from thearticulation socket 3, that is to say the internal thread of the leginsert 14 does not, in this state, engage in the external thread of thethreaded ring 13, and the leg insert 14, and with it the tubular leg 4,can move freely in the longitudinal direction. The retaining ring 17 isprovided, however, in order that the tubular leg 4 cannot drop off fromthe T-bolt 8.

[0026] On the one hand, the leg spring 15, which acts on the threadedring 13 via the stop ring 16, causes the tubular leg to be forced awayfrom the articulation socket 3, with the result that the tubular leg 4can easily be folded away via the recess 11. On the other hand, however,the leg spring 15 also causes the tubular leg 4 to be forced, by way ofits bottom end, into the arresting saddle 7.

[0027] In order then to fix the tubular leg 4 on the articulation socket3, the tubular leg 4 is pushed counter to the force of the spring 15 androtated in the clockwise direction, with the result that the internalthread of the leg insert 14 engages in the external thread of thethreaded ring 13, and the tubular leg 4 is moved in the direction of thearticulation socket 3.

[0028] This situation is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this case, the leginsert 14, and with it the tubular leg 4, is brought into abutment withthe articulation socket 3 by virtue of its internal thread being screwedupwards on the external thread of the threaded ring 13. The stackingguard 12 is accommodated in a recess of the leg insert 14.

[0029]FIG. 5 once again illustrates, at the top, the parts which havealready been indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Additionally illustrated is abore 20 which accommodates a screw by means of which the table-jointcomponent 2 is fastened on the table top 1. An enlargement of the regionwhich, at the top of the figure, is designated “A” is illustrated at thebottom. It should be noted here that the external thread 21 of thethreaded ring 13 has a larger pitch than the internal thread of thethreaded ring 13, or the corresponding thread 25 on the T-bolt. Thisachieves the situation where, although the threaded ring 13 is seated ina fixed manner on the T-bolt 8, only a small number of revolutions arenecessary when the leg insert 14 is screwed upwards on the externalthread 21 of the threaded ring 13.

[0030] The T-bolt 8 illustrated in FIG. 6 has, at the top, thecrosspiece 23, which is seated on the upper shank 24, and also has thealready described thread 25 and the lower shank 26. The groove 27 servesfor accommodating the retaining ring 17, the function of which has beendescribed in conjunction with FIG. 3.

[0031]FIG. 7 illustrates the table top 1 with the arresting saddle 7screwed thereto. The screw, which is not shown in the figure, is screwedinto the bore 28. An arresting body 5 is fastened, for example byadhesive bonding, in the tubular leg 4 and has a nose which engages in acorresponding recess on the arresting saddle 7. The force of the legspring 15, which has been described in conjunction with FIG. 3, forcesthe nose of the arresting body 5 into the recess of the arresting saddle7, with the result that the nose latches in automatically when thetubular leg 4 is folded away.

List of Designations

[0032]1 Table top

[0033]2 Table-joint component

[0034]3 Articulation socket

[0035]4 Tubular leg

[0036]5 Arresting body

[0037]6 Sliding screw

[0038]7 Arresting saddle

[0039]8 T-bolt

[0040]9 Braking insert

[0041]10 Socket spring

[0042]11 Recess

[0043]12 Stacking guard

[0044]13 Threaded ring

[0045]14 Leg insert

[0046]15 Leg spring

[0047]16 Stop ring

[0048]17 Retaining ring

[0049]18 Crossmember

[0050]19 Screws

[0051]20 Bore

[0052]21 External thread of the threaded ring 13

[0053]22 Internal thread of the threaded ring 13

[0054]23 Crosspiece

[0055]24 Upper shank

[0056]25 Thread on the T-bolt 8

[0057]26 Lower shank

[0058]27 Groove

[0059]28 Bore

1. Table with fold-away legs, the table being provided with tubular legs(4) which are connected in an articulated manner to articulation sockets(3) fastened on the underside of the table top (1), characterized inthat provided for the articulated connection between the tubular leg (4)and the articulation socket (3) is a T-bolt (8) which has its crosspiece(23) retained in a bearing of the articulation socket (3) by means of abraking insert (9), subjected to the pressure of a spring (10), andwhich has its lower shank (26) screwed, via a thread (25), to a threadedring (13), on the external thread (21) of which the tubular leg (4) canbe moved by rotation in the longitudinal direction by means of a leginsert (14) fastened therein.
 2. Table according to claim 1,characterized in that, in the pivoting region of the T-bolt (8), thearticulation socket (3) has a recess (11) into which the T-bolt (8)enters when the tubular leg (4) is folded away, and by way of which thecrosspiece (23) of the T-bolt (8) can be inserted into the bearing inthe articulation socket (3).
 3. Table according to claim 1,characterized in that a spring (15) is provided between the threadedring (13) and the leg insert (14), and the bottom end of the tubular leg(4) has an arresting body (5) which, in the folded-away state of thetubular leg (4), engages, by way of a nose, in the recess of anarresting saddle (7), the leg spring (15) forcing the nose of thearresting body (5) into the recess of the arresting saddle (7).
 4. Tableaccording to claim 3, characterized in that a sliding screw (6) isprovided in the arresting body (5).
 5. Table according to claim 1,characterized in that inserted at the articulation end of thearticulation socket (3) is a ring which acts as a stacking guard (12)and is accommodated in a recess of the leg insert (14) when the tubularleg (4) is screw-connected.
 6. Table according to claim 1, characterizedin that the threaded ring (13) is screwed onto the thread (25) of theupper T-bolt (8) by way of an internal thread (22) of relatively smallpitch, and the external thread (21) of the threaded ring (13), via whichthe leg insert (14) can be moved, has a relatively large pitch.
 7. Tableaccording to claim 6, characterized in that the internal thread (22) isan M10 thread and the external thread (21) is an M24 thread.
 8. Tableaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the braking insert (9)consists of plastic, preferably PA6, and the leg insert (14) is analuminium diecasting.